The Single-Use Plastics Directive sets objectives to reduce plastic waste generation (by banning certain items) and ensure its proper collection and recirculation by mandating for example the 77 % separate collection of PET bottles by 2025 and 25 % recycled content of new PET bottles put on the market by the same year (Art. 6; Art. 9). It further increases those targets by 2029 and 2030 respectively. Art. 5 of the Directive bans all oxo-degradable plastic products, single-use or not.

Single-use plastic products (listed in Part F of the Annex) placed on the market in a Member State may be deemed to be equal to the amount of waste generated from such products, including as litter, in the same year in that Member State (Art. 9). Establishing deposit-refund schemes and separate collection targets for relevant Extended Producer Responsibility schemes are the measures that can support in achieving this objective.

Awareness raising measures directed at informing consumers and incentivising responsible consumer behaviour can also be considered by local and regional governments (Art. 10). Such awareness raising measures should inform about:
 

• the availability of re-usable alternatives, re-use systems and waste management options for those single-use plastic products, and for fishing gear containing plastic as well as best practices in sound waste management;
• the impact of littering and other inappropriate waste disposal of those single-use plastic products and of fishing gear containing plastic on the environment, in particular on the marine environment;
• the impact of inappropriate means of waste disposal of those single-use plastic products on the sewer network.

In 2021, the Commission published guidelines on single-use plastic products in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021XC0607(03)

This document provides guidance on the interpretation and implementation of the Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. The focus of these guidelines is on the single-use plastic products such as balloons, balloon sticks, beverage containers with a capacity of up to three litres (including their caps and lids), beverage stirrers, cotton bud sticks, cups for beverages, cups for beverages made of expanded polystyrene (including their covers and lids), cups for beverages (including their covers and lids), cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks), food containers, food containers made of expanded polystyrene, lightweight plastic carrier bags, packets and wrappers, plates, sanitary towels (pads), tampons and tampon applicators, straws, tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products and wet wipes.

A summary of the Single-Use Plastics Directive can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/single-use-plastics-fighting-the-impact-on-the-environment.html

Rethink Plastic, an alliance of leading European NGOs, analysed the situation in 19 European countries and summarised what measures they adopted to transpose the Directive. The summary of this analysis is presented here: https://rethinkplasticalliance.eu/news/midway-assessment-of-eu-countries-transposition-of-single-use-plastics-directive/

The Rethink Plastic Alliance also prepared two guides with some recommendations on how national decision makers as well as local municipalities and cities can best implement the provisions of the Directive on single-use plastics:
 

• guide for national decisions makers to implement the Single-Use plastics Directive: https://rethinkplasticalliance.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019_10_10_rpa_bffp_sup_guide.pdf
• local guidance for implementing the Single-Use Plastics Directive: https://rethinkplasticalliance.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/rpa_zwe_local_guidance_implementing_sup_directive.pdf

• Date of document: 05/06/2019; Date of signature
• Date of effect: 02/07/2019; Entry into force Date pub. +20 See Art 18
• Date of transposition: 03/07/2021; Adoption See Art 17.1
• Date of transposition: 03/07/2021; Application See Art 17.1
• Date of transposition: 05/01/2023; Application See Art 17.1
• Date of transposition: 03/07/2024; Application See Art 17.1
• Date of transposition: 31/12/2024; Application See Art 17.1
• Date of end of validity: No end date